Starting box



April 25, 1939.

T. A. KEEN 2,156,043

STARTING BOX Filed Oct. '7, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 25, 1939. T. A.KEEN 2,156,043

STARTING BOX Filed Oct. 7, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HIM) H 7 6 y" ffif/W/W'i? mw m 3 Patented Apr. 25, 1939 UNITED STATES STARTING BOX Thomas A.Keen, Hannah M.

13 Claims.

The invention has particularly to do with a portable, fast openingstarting box in which several racing dogs are placed before the start ofa race and from which all are released simultaneously to start suchrace. The box may be placed in a position on a track just before a raceand then removed immediately after the start or after the last start tobe made.

The objects of the invention include, among others, the provision of thefollowing:

A new and improved starting box;

A new starting box of improved form;

An improved portable starting box;

Quick opening means for a starting box;

Improved doors for a starting box;

An improved means for opening starting box doors.

These objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear areobtained by the novel ar- 20 rangement and combination of elementshereinafter described and claimed. One form of a starting box embodyingthe invention is illustrated in the accompanying two sheets of drawings,hereby made a part of this application, and

25 in which:

Figure 1 is a view of the starting box in perspective;

Figure 2 is an enlarged front view of the right hand end of the startingbox;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view from above of the door opening apparatus;and

Figure 4 is an enlarged rear view of a part of the starting box.

Like reference characters are used to designate 35 similar parts in thedrawings and in the following description.

The present invention is of a starting box having a plurality of closedstalls, each stall having a door at the rear for ingress and doors at 40the front for egress, there being means to open the front doors of allstalls simultaneously. The front doors are shaped and mounted to providefor quick opening and to allow ready egress of the dogs upon the openingof such doors.

The foundation of the starting box is a frame, which may be wood orother material but which, in the form shown, is of metal angle bars. Theframe at each end of the box consists of a rear upright l0. a bottommember H, a top member 50 I2 and a rearwardly slanted front upright IS.

The frame may be braced by triangular pieces I at the corners.Longitudinal beams I 5 and I6 join the top and bottom back corners ofthe two end frames. The top front corners of the 55 frames are held bya. heavy beam which serves San Mateo, Calif., assignor to Smith, RiverForest, Ill.

Application October 7,

1935, Serial No. 43,815 (Cl. 119-155) also as a mounting forinstrumentalities later to be described. No frame member is necessarybetween the lower front corners of the end frames as the heavy beam IIat the top front corners and the internal construction of the 5 startingbox provide adequate support. At intervals along the longitudinalmembers at the rear and the top front beam and at right angles to thelong axis of the starting box are interior frame members which serve toposition parti- 10 tions which divide the starting box into a pluralityof stalls with spaces between the stalls. The interior frame members arenot shown but they are similar to end frames I0, ll, l2 and [3, to whichthey correspond.

Top l8, end l9 and bottom 26 are closed by plates which, in the formshown, are of a light metal. Plates (not shown) of the same material areattached at each side of the interior frame members to form dividingpartitions. The plates forming each partition are spaced apart by theinterior frames so that closed spaces are left between stalls. At thefront of the box such spaces are closed by plates 20. Similar plates 2|close the spaces at the rear of the box.

At each side of the rear of each stall a. track 22 is provided toreceive one side of a vertically sliding door 23. Each door is providedwith a handle 24 for ready lifting to permit entry of a dog into thestall.

At each side of the front opening of each stall is a square bar. The bar25 at the right hand side of each opening is long. The bar 25a at theleft hand side of each opening is short.

Each bar has a cylindrical lower end fitting rotatively in a socket setinto the bottom plate 26 of the box. The top end of each bar 25 and 25ais likewise cylindrical, as indicated at 28 in Figure 3, and isjo'urnaled in a bearing member 21 mounted on the longitudinal beam *1 atthe top 40 of the front of the box. The bearing member 21 for the longbar 25 at the right side of each stall is located near the top of thelongitudinal beam IT. The bearing member 21 to receive the short bar 25aat the other side of each stall 46 is mounted near the lower edge of thelongitudinal beam.

Attached to each long bar 25 is a door 29 serving to close the rightside of the opening of one stall. A complemental door 29a is mounted on50 the short bar 250. at the other side of the stall. The two doors 29and 29a meet at the center of the stall to form a complete closure.

The bottom corner and inner edge of each door are bent outwardly of thestall on a line 30, ex-

tending diagonally from the top inner corner to the bottom outer cornerof each door. The left hand door 29a of each stall has a window 3| setin the outwardly bent part near the bottom of the door.

The bearings 21 in which the top ends of the bars are journaled havetheir hearing portions divided into two parts 21a and 21b. The bars 25aand 25 pass through both parts. Between the two parts and pinned orotherwise securely fastened to each bar is an arm 32. Where so desiredthe square portion of the bar may be continued through the lower portion21a of the bearing 21 and up to the top part. The aperture in the arm 32then is made square to fit the bar, thus preventing relative rotation.

At the outer end of each arm 32 is a pin 33 rotatively set in a suitableaperture in the arm 32. The top of each pin is provided with a socket toreceive a door operating rod 34a or 34b The rod 34a or 342) may befastened into the socket by means of a pin or set screw or in any othersuitable way. One rod 34a runs through all of the sockets in pins 33which are on the arms .32 attached to the long bars 25 in the upperbearings. The second rod 342) passes through the corresponding socketsin the pins 33 on the arms 32 attached to the short bars 25a in thelower bearings. The respective arms 32 are set on the rods 25 and 25a atsuch an angle that when the upper rod 34a is moved to the right and thelower rod 34b to the left the arms 32 will turn the bars 25 and 25a toopen the doors 29 and 29a outwardly.

A lever 35 is provided to give simultaneous movement of the two rods 34aand 34b and thus produce simultaneous opening of all the doors. Thelever 35 is pivoted at 36 to the top beam. A link 31 has one end.pivoted to the lever at a point above the pivot 36. The other end of thelink is pivotally attached to a collar 38 which is secured on the upperrod 34a by a pin or set screw or other means. A second link 39 has oneend pivoted to the lever 35 a distance below the pivot 36 equal to thedistance of the attachment of the link 31 above the pivot 36. Link 39runs to a collar 40 which is secured to the lower rod A guide 4| isattached to a bracket 42 mounted in. the front beam I1 and serves tosteady the lever 35 and determine its extreme position in eitherdirection.

A handle 43 for carrying the starting box is pivoted to brackets 44 ateach end of the box.

An extension 45 of the upper front beam is provided to fit in a post orother guide (not shown) to determine definitely the proper position ofthe box.

The operation of the starting box is as follows:

The front doors 29 and 29a of the box are shut by throwing the lever 35toward the box. A dog is let into each stall through the rear door 23and the rear door lowered into position to close the stall. The stallsare so narrow that the dogs can not turn around in them but must facethe front doors. To start the race the lever 35 is pulled quickly awayfrom the box. All the front doors are thereby opened simultaneously. Theoutwardly flared faces of the doors provide a rapid opening at thebottoms. Since each stall is only about twelve inches wide each door hasto swing out only approximately six inches. This movement allows a veryquick opening and a resulting quick start. The guide 4| stops the leverat such position that each door stands open approximately in front ofthe bar 25 or 25a to which it is attached. To close the doors for thenext race the lever 35 is again moved toward the box.

It should be noted that by arranging the hinged doors with the innerlower portions thereof bodily outwardly diverted it is possible to soposition the windows that each animal will have a clear view of thetrack ahead without being able to see the animals in the. adjacentstalls.

What is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. In a starting box for dog racing, a closure for starting stalls,comprising paired doors, each door being hinged at-the outer edge, saiddoors meeting at their inner edges, and each door having a portiondiverted outwardly of said starting box on a line extendingsubstantially from the top inner corner of each door to the bottom outercorner thereof.

2. The closure described in claim 1, and in which one door of each pairof doors is opaque and the other door of each pair has a transparentsection, the opaque and transparent doors occupying the same relativeposition in each pair whereby animals in adjacent stalls cannot see eachother.

3. In a starting box having a plurality of stalls,-

pivoted bars at the right and the left sides of the exit from eachstall, a pair of doors for each stall, one door being secured to each ofsaid bars for pivoting therewith, two door opening rods, an arm securedto each of said bars at the right side of each of said stalls andpivoted to one of said rods, an arm secured to each of said bars at theleft side of each of said stalls and pivoted to the other of said rods,and lever means for simultaneously moving one rod in one direction andthe other rod in the other direction to open said doors.

4. In a starting box for dog racing, a closure for starting stalls,comprising paired doors, each door being hinged at the outer edge, saiddoors meeting at their inner edges, and each door having a portionadapted when closed to be in the same plane as the corresponding portionof the other door, and a portion diverted outwardly of said starting boxon a line extending substantially from the top inner corner of each doorto the bottom outer corner thereof, the edges of said diverted portionsmeeting.

5. In a starting box having a plurality of stalls, pivoted bars at theright and the left sides of the exit from each stall, a pair of doorsfor each stall, one door being secured to each of said bars for pivotingtherewith, two door opening rods, an arm secured to each of said bars atthe right side of each of said stalls and pivoted to one of said rods,an arm secured to each of said bars at the left side of each of saidstalls and pivoted to the other of said rods, lever means forsimultaneously moving one rod in one direction and the other rod in theother direction to open said doors, said lever means being pivotallymounted at a point between its extremities and having one of said rodsoperably attached to it on one side of the pivot and the other of saidrods operablyattached to it on the opposite side of said" pivot, and ahandle on said lever.

6. In a starting cage having an opening, a pair of doors, said doorsbeing hingedly mounted to opposite sides of said opening, said doorsmeeting along respective edges thereof to form a closure for saidopening, a portion of said doors lying in the plane of said opening andthe lower portions of said doors adjacent the meeting edges beingangularly disposed forwardly away from the plane of the opening.

7. In a starting cage having an opening, a pair of doors, said doorsbeing hingedly mounted to opposite sides of said opening, said doorsmeeting along respective edges thereof to form a closure for saidopening, a portion of said doors lying in the plane of said opening andthe lower inner portions of said doors being disposed forwardly awayfrom the plane 01' the opening.

8. A starting cage having an opening therein, and a pair of doorshingedly mounted with respect to the sides of the opening and adapted tomeet whereby to form a complete closure for the opening, the centralportion of said doors being disposed forwardly away from the plane ofthe opening.

9. A starting cage having an opening therein,

and a pair of doors hingedly mounted at the opening and adapted to meetwhereby to form a complete closure for the opening, a portion of thearea of said doors being arranged substantially in the plane of saidopening and a lower portion 01' said doors being displaced forwardlyaway from the plane 01 the opening. 10. A starting cage having anopening therein, and a pair of doors hingedly mounted at the opening andadapted to meet whereby to form a complete closure for the opening, aportion of the area oi said doors being arranged substantially in theplane of said opening and a lower portion of said doors at and near theline of meeting therebetween being displaced forwardly away from theplane of the o 11. A starting cage having an opening therein, and doorforming means of suiiicient area to form a substantially full closureacross said opening, said door forming means having hinge means along atleast one edge providing an opposite swingable edge, a part of the areaof said door forming means being arranged in the plane of the opening, afurther portion of said door extending to said swingable edge, saidportion being bodily displaced forwardly away from the plane of theopening when the door is in closed position.

12. A starting cage having a plurality of openings therein, paired doorshingedly mounted with respect to the openings, said doors in closedposition converging to a point forwardly of the said openings, and awindow in the corresponding door of each pair only whereby to provide adoor intermediate of each of said window doors, said intermediate doorserving to obstruct vision between the respective windows.

13. A starting device for animal races and the like comprising a boxseparated into a plurality of compartments, a pair of swinging doors forclosing one end of each of said compartments, one of each pair of saiddoors being opaque, and the other of each pair of doors having atransparent section, each opaque door being interposed between doorshaving the said transparent section and being interposed in the line ofsight between said transparent sections.

THOMAS A. KEEN.

